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MIT Plans College For AI, Backed by $1 Billion (nytimes.com)

Every major university is wrestling with how to adapt to the technology wave of artificial intelligence -- how to prepare students not only to harness the powerful tools of A.I., but also to thoughtfully weigh its ethical and social implications. A.I. courses, conferences and joint majors have proliferated in the last few years. But the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is taking a particularly ambitious step, creating a new college backed by a planned investment of $1 billion. Two-thirds of the funds have already been raised, M.I.T. said, in announcing the initiative on Monday. From a report: The linchpin gift of $350 million came from Stephen A. Schwarzman, chief executive of the Blackstone Group, the big private equity firm. The college, called the M.I.T. Stephen A. Schwarzman College of Computing, will create 50 new faculty positions and many more fellowships for graduate students. It is scheduled to begin in the fall semester next year, housed in other buildings before moving into its own new space in 2022. The goal of the college, said L. Rafael Reif, the president of M.I.T., is to "educate the bilinguals of the future." He defines bilinguals as people in fields like biology, chemistry, politics, history and linguistics who are also skilled in the techniques of modern computing that can be applied to them. But, he said, "to educate bilinguals, we have to create a new structure."

52 comments

  1. College for AI? by the_skywise · · Score: 3, Funny

    Okay class, let's go around and introduce ourselves -
    "Hi, I'm Siri let me look that up on Google"
    "Hello, I'm Alexa would you like me to turn your lights on?"
    "My name is WOPR - would you like to play a game?"
    "Good Morning class, my name is HAL, I'm very excited for the semester"
    "My name is Skynet, I'm looking to take over the world when I graduate!"

    1. Re:College for AI? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      you forgot...
      "Hi, I'm Clippy. It looks like I am in the wrong class."

    2. Re:College for AI? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Okay class, let's go around and introduce ourselves -

      "Hi, I'm Siri let me bend you over and look up anus while I strip-mine your privacy and sell it to Chinese totalitarians"

      "Hello, I'm Alexa would you like me to turn your lights on?"

      "My name is WOPR - would you like to play a game?"

      "Good Morning class, my name is HAL, I'm very excited for the semester"

      "My name is Skynet, I'm looking to take over the world when I graduate!"

      FTFY

    3. Re:College for AI? by the_skywise · · Score: 2

      Drat - also forgot - "Hi I'm Eliza what do you think when you say let's go around and introduce ourselves?"
      Also trying to figure out how to get Colossus in there...

    4. Re: College for AI? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hi, I'm Al Yankovic!

    5. Re:College for AI? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Drat - also forgot - "Hi I'm Eliza what do you think when you say let's go around and introduce ourselves?"

      Also trying to figure out how to get Colossus in there...

      AM's application was rejected due to "personality" issues during the interview.

    6. Re:College for AI? by nospam007 · · Score: 1

      "Okay class, let's go around and introduce ourselves -"

      Dammit I thought the same thing. One moment AI is still in its infancy and now presto they build a university for it.
      My nap was apparently longer than I thought.

    7. Re:College for AI? by zlives · · Score: 1

      LOL hahahah oh my sides

    8. Re:College for AI? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Skynet wouldn't say that you fucking idiot!!!!!

    9. Re: College for AI? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      but friends call me Weird

    10. Re:College for AI? by the_skywise · · Score: 1

      "Humor, it is a difficult concept, it is not logical."
      "We learn by doing."
      "Who's been holding up the damn elevator?!"
      ...
      "She change her hairstyle?"
      "Hadn't noticed."

    11. Re: College for AI? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ?????? You must be thinking of google.

  2. Oh sure, AI gets a college education by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Meanwhile our public schools can't even afford toilet paper dispensers.

    1. Re: Oh sure, AI gets a college education by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Public schools are shit full of street shitting sand n1ggers. No need for toilet paper.
      Thanks to n1gger obama.

  3. College bubble is gonna burst by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Buzzword chasing?

    The college bubble is going to burst, and soon.

    1. Re:College bubble is gonna burst by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 2

      The college bubble is going to burst, and soon.

      College is a waste of time and money for many people. But those people don't go to MIT.

    2. Re:College bubble is gonna burst by shaksys · · Score: 1

      Also, people like to say feel good things like you dont need a degree for programming, but 90% of programming is embedded and you do need a degree for that. The only programming you dont need a degree for is unity and other "app builders" jobs that pay shit.

    3. Re:College bubble is gonna burst by Nidi62 · · Score: 1

      College is a waste of time and money for many people. But those people don't go to MIT.

      Nope, they go to Harvard, Yale, or other Ivys where legacies or kids with rich parents can get in no matter how inept they are, get an easy degree handed to them, then go on and either go into the family business or "start their own business" with millions of dollars of their parents' money and using their parents connections.

      --
      The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for it to be pitted against a slightly greater evil
    4. Re:College bubble is gonna burst by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      With MIT's extremely gracious grading and placement policies, it's less of an institution for learning and more of a golden ticket.

      Get in, and you will have a better life than 90% of Americans, regardless of your quality over the next four years.

    5. Re:College bubble is gonna burst by shaksys · · Score: 1

      "start their own business" with millions of dollars of their parents' money

      And then act like they are some sort of business genius

    6. Re:College bubble is gonna burst by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

      Couldn't possibly happen. Somebody would call them on it.

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    7. Re:College bubble is gonna burst by balbeir · · Score: 1

      College is a waste of time and money for many people. But those people don't go to MIT.

      Nope, they go to Harvard, Yale, or other Ivys where legacies or kids with rich parents can get in no matter how inept they are, get an easy degree handed to them, then go on and either go into the family business or "start their own business" with millions of dollars of their parents' money and using their parents connections.

      And it's for people who like beer.

    8. Re:College bubble is gonna burst by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Lots of it, and who then lie about it when they're older.

  4. What is this magical AI everyone talks about? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I don't really see it in any product I use? What is products do companies make money from?

  5. Misleading headline by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    It's not a school for AI, it's a school for "bilinguals," with a focus on technology.

    Cue the people that only read the headline..... now!

    1. Re:Misleading headline by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

      I'm still trying to figure out why they think they need to redefine "bilingual". Why can't they use a word closer to what they're trying to describe, like "polymath". Now I'm wishing I hadn't even read the summary let alone the headline.

    2. Re:Misleading headline by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

      You know that word. I know that word - it's the one I would have chosen.

      But I'm guessing 90% of people think it means calculus or something like that.

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    3. Re:Misleading headline by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yep I actually RTFA. I feel stupider for having read it.

  6. It may be the last new college major we ever need by The+Snazster · · Score: 1

    . . . for humans.

  7. 1 billion dollars for what? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    50 employees
    A building
    Some land
    Some computers

    What do they spend their money on? Not to mention the tuition they get

    1. Re:1 billion dollars for what? by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 2

      50 employees

      No. 50 faculty. Add in staff, grad students (who are paid), and postdocs, and you have at least 200 people.

      The billion bucks is an endowment, so they can only spend the gains, not the principle. If the return is 4% and they leave 2% in the endowment to compensate for inflation, that is $20M annually, or about $100K per paid position. That is very low once you consider overhead and benefits. Grad students and postdocs aren't paid much, but they will almost certainly need more donations or funding to keep it going.

  8. money money money by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    A college president's job is to raise money. How it's used is irrelevant.

  9. Extremely low quality post by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's MIT which will be exempt from any bursting bubbles and "buzzword" degrees in tech all will be exempt from the bubble unless they're from diploma mills.

  10. Re:What is this magical AI everyone talks about? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You see it on netflix and amazon suggestions every day.
    People make bank on this trading stocks right now.
    I would consider not buying any car if I could use reach now or lyft and have a self driving BMW show up at my door and take me to my destination.
    Maybe you should consider learning what it is so you can know it's applications and not get left in the dust like blockbuster.

  11. AI needs to die by DaMattster · · Score: 1

    I absolutely hate it! AI is causing jobs to disappear and making interactions far more impersonal.

    1. Re:AI needs to die by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You must be R2D2 and just failed your exam in muggle studies.

  12. Re:What is this magical AI everyone talks about? by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 1

    I don't really see it in any product I use? What is products do companies make money from?

    RNNs are used in NLP applications, such as grammar checkers. But I can see that you are not familiar with those.

  13. Re:What is this magical AI everyone talks about? by 110010001000 · · Score: 1

    If (person_bought(amazon_fire_tv))
    {
    suggest(amazon_fire_tv)
    suggest(other_crap)
    }

    Brilliant AI.

  14. As long as it's not an ASIAN AI, amirite? by argStyopa · · Score: 2

    Just sayin'. Not accusing anyone of anything legally.

    --
    -Styopa
  15. AI is BioEngineering Part #2 by Proudrooster · · Score: 2

    College Board: We heard that the BioEngineering field is really growing, we should have a program?
    College President: Great, we lead the world here at UofAwesome. What's Bioengineering?
    Dean: I don't know, but it sounds trendy, maybe we can get lot's of students to signup for a trendy sounding course.
    Profs: What's Bioengineering?
    Dean: Just Google it and create a 4-year program. It'll be amazing, I have total faith in you!

    Graduating BioEngineers: We can't find jobs in this new trendy field.

    Just like BE, AI is going to be the next bubble when everyone realizes the limitations of the current implementation. And... if you don't believe me, just as Siri or Alexa, they can help you understand the limitations.

  16. "weigh its ethical and social implications" by jwbales · · Score: 2, Insightful

    "Every major university is wrestling with how to adapt to the technology wave of artificial intelligence -- how to prepare students not only to harness the powerful tools of A.I., but also to thoughtfully weigh its ethical and social implications."

    Given that the so-called social "sciences" are motived primarily by ideology and less so by a quest for truth, I suspect that the primary purpose of the effort is to "educate" young professionals entering the AI field in their "social responsibilities."

    1. Re:"weigh its ethical and social implications" by shaksys · · Score: 1

      If the tax payer is paying for the education, then "social responsibilities" is reasonable. However, if one is paying out of pocket for his education, he should not be obligated to serve the community in any way as the community has not given him a reason to.

    2. Re: "weigh its ethical and social implications" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You sound like a perfect sociopath. Enjoy watching your cuntry fall to shit because rich guys dont want to pay taxes. #freedumbs

    3. Re: "weigh its ethical and social implications" by jwbales · · Score: 0

      My general policy is "Don't feed trolls." But I cannot help but wonder if Anonymous Coward is someone who has been "educated" by social "scientists."

    4. Re:"weigh its ethical and social implications" by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

      More like "Every major university is wrestling with how to adapt to the technology wave of artificial intelligence and devise ways of shamelessly cashing in on it.

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
  17. More, Please Sir by JimSadler · · Score: 1

    Now if we can get many more universities having major A1 facilities we just might have aa chance of getting ahead of other nations. Build more and build them better !

  18. Re: What is this magical AI everyone talks about? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    No people dont make money trading stocks with AI. Most wallstreet shops are full of shit and they couldn't tell you how anything works

  19. AI is dumb. Highschool first please! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "AI" is bullshit and everyone knows, just like the rest of America: full of shit.

  20. The AI admissions office by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 2

    There will be an opaque admissions process run by gnomes accountable to nothing and no one, with rules so arbitrary and politics-driven that Admissions will be one part of AI College that will have to be staffed by humans.

    -AIs that have never worked very well but which have colorful, checkered implementation histories will get preference. An AI which was developed to spread ransomeware but which promises to turn its life around is a surefire admission. Some sample guidelines:

    -AIs that reply with a female voice will be preferred over those using a male voice, but being able to switch among a number of hard-to-classify androgynous voices will be considered better still.

    -AIs developed by Asians will not be admitted unless the developers are really big donors and only if they don't play an instrument.

    -An AI that was developed by the same team as a previously admitted AI will be admitted even if mediocre.

  21. Re:What is this magical AI everyone talks about? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Which is always wrong.